The One I Love
by Miyako Mizuki
Summary: Zero and Ichii have returned to the human world! But are they the only examinees who have come back? Zero wants to tell Nina how he feels, but is afraid she won't accept it. Ichii, Zero, and Nina try to deal with the examinees returning and relationships.


**By now, the sequel to Mamotte! Lollipop has been released. However, the category on this website is Mamotte! Lollipop, not the sequel. I am basically picking up where the first season left off. I am just starting off my story where Zero and Ichii have returned to the human world to be together with Nina after being gone for over a year. They go to school and everything, just like before. However, Zero has not told Nina his feelings. Lame title, I know. Sorry about the length! It's my first, so please review! Anyway, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Mamotte! Lollipop, then I would scream and take a bath in peanut butter. And since I currently do not own 15 gallons of peanut butter, I obviously don't own it. –Tear Tear-**

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"ZERO!!!! WAKE UP!!!!!!" Ichii screamed into my ear. I bolted up and nearly fell off the bed as I tried to escape his loud voice. I looked at my clock. It read 6:30. School started at seven.

"Ahhh!!!!" I raced to the shower and quickly got in. Five minutes later I was throwing on my uniform and straightening the tie. Ichii made me some toast and I at it quickly, followed by a glass of orange juice. I grabbed my backpack and was headed out the door (closet door, really) when Ichii grabbed my collar and held me back. I scrambled and thrashed, but I couldn't escape his grip. I turned around.

"Ichii! We're gonna be late! And we still have to see if Nina is ready!" I yelled. He looked at me a sighed.

"I moved your clock forward fifteen minutes so you would get up." He said, avoiding my gaze.

"You _what_? Why?" I shouted.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" I said, aggravated.

"Are you going to tell her today?" I froze. His words hit home. I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Why is that important?" I grumbled, embarrassed.

"Well, I thought you might need some advice."

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

I was straightening my hair bows when Zero burst through my closet door.

"Nina, are you ready?" he said. His face was flushed and Ichii was behind him, laughing his head off. When they returned, Zero and Ichii took up residence in my closet once again (left to the Magical World for over a year before they could finally come back) by creating a magical space inside that was not visible from the outside. You needed a key to get inside as well. This worked well. The room was also soundproof to anyone on the outside when the door was closed. This way they could yell and have wizard parties without my parents hearing. Very handy, especially since my mom would blow if she would out that they were living here. But they (mom and dad) left on a cruise this week, so that was helpful.

"Yeah. Let's go." I said, smiling. I grabbed my backpack and out of my bedroom and was followed by the two boys. We were out the front door and walking to school when Ichii started talking.

"I'm sorry, Zero, but that was really funny."

"It was NOT, Ichii." Zero replied, obviously blushing at the memory.

"What was funny?" I asked, confused.

"Well, Ze-" Ichii started.

"NOTHING!!!!" Zero interrupted. I laughed and his whole face turned cherry red. He started mumbling things under his breath, something about a nail gun and a rubber band.

"So, did you sleep well Nina?" Ichii asked.

"No, actually. I had a nightmare." I answered, grimacing at the memory. Zero's eyes flashed to my face. "It wasn't that bad, just a little creepy."

"What was it about?" Zero asked softly. His face was so caring, like I had never seen it before. His eyes shone with the small flame of sympathy, and he was focusing on me. It was times like this, when he thought I was in danger, that I thought about the reason why the really came back. Whenever I asked, Ichii always said that they wanted to be with me. But was it more than that?

"I dreamed that all of the examines came back as well instead of just you. They were chasing me around again, trying to capture me. It was really freaky, reliving it again without being able to control myself." I said, shuddering. As we were walking, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. A figure emerged from the bushes. Two stepped out from behind a wall, and another three dropped from trees lining the sidewalk. As one jumped onto Ichii, knocking him the ground, realization sunk in.

"Rokka?" Ichii blurted.

"The examinees came back?" I said, my voice climbing through three octaves.

"The exam is over! Nina no longer has the crystal pearl! You have no right to chase her again!" Zero said, taking up a defensive position in front of me.

"Then why are you here, Zero?" Forte exclaimed. Zero blushed and looked down. Wow, he sure was blushing a lot today…

"We are here to be with Nina." Ichii put in while struggling to remove Rokka from his chest. She was screaming "MY ICHII-SAMA!! MY ICHII-SAMA!!" and was in her little kid form. She had grown up. She looked about nine or so.

"As are we." Said Gou, assisting him by pulling Rokka off. "Well, for Rokka, it's more for Ichii, but…"

"Wait, you're here to hang out with me? Not to chase me?" I said, stunned.

"Yep. Hiya, Nina-chan! We should go on a date…" said Yakumo, approaching me. Zero turned to me, as if asking me if I was going to go with him.

"Well, we have to get to school…" I said slowly.

"Yeah, Yakumo. Let's get going." Said Nanase.

"SAN WANTS CAKE!" San yelled to Forte.

"We can't! After school, okay? " He replied, exasperated.

"Okay!" San said happily. They all began to walk towards the school. I tapped Zero, who was still standing in front of me. He turned around and realized what I had been trying to say.

"Sorry. Let's go." He said, moving to walk next to me. Ichii joined us.

"You'll have to let us know if anything strange happens, okay? Ichii said.

"Yeah. Whether the exam is over or not, we will protect you!" Zero said excitedly. I laughed. My same old princes were with me again.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

"Ugh. Today sucked." I said to Nina as we were walking home from school. Recently, all of the examinees from the magical exam had returned to the human world. They enrolled at our school and were even in our same class. Rokka is lucky she can change her appearance because otherwise, she would never pass as a tenth grader. She's only nine! And sadly, Gou became a teacher at the school so he couldn't control Rokka from glomping Ichii ALL day. She is so annoying. San handed out pictures of Forte in different outfits (cross-dress of course!) to everyone today and he was blushing all the time. That was hilarious. Yakumo asked Nina out three times today (all refused, to his horror) and Nanase has plans with three guys tomorrow night. They both irk me.

"Yeah. Yakumo is scary. He needs to find a girlfriend so he can stop nagging me." Nina said. This made me smile. Yakumo can't have Nina! Maybe today would be a good day… since Ichii is stopping for groceries on the way home, we will be alone for a little while…

"Oh, here's the grocery store. I'll be in there for a little while. You to can wait or head home, if you want." Ichii said.

"We'll wait here, Ichii. I'll be over by that tree." I said smoothly, hoping that Nina would follow me. Luck was with me. After Nina waved to Ichii, she came and followed me to the cherry blossom tree next to the lake. Then sun was setting and was on the horizon, creating a beautiful reflection on the water. The cherry blossom tree was full of little pink petals and I found a large enough spot for the two of us in the roots. I folded my arms behind my head and sat back against the tree.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Nina said, sitting down next to me.

"Yeah. It's really relaxing." I said in reply. I said it impassively, but inside I was a huge wave of turmoil. _So I say something now, or should I wait? _I thought. _No, I can't keep putting it off! I have to tell her!_

"Hey, Nina…" I started, looking at her. She turned.

"Yeah?" she replied. I took a deep breath before I spoke.

"We came back to the human world to be with you, that's true. But while Ichii may think of you as a really good friend, I think of you as more. I am in love with you. I came back here to be with my love, and hope she felt the same. Do you like me, Nina?" I said with the steadiest voice I could muster. I could feel the blood rushing to my face as I waited for her to reply.

"No." she said simply. I was shocked. I literally felt like I was about to cry. I lowered my head and was about to stand up.

"I'm sorry you had to listen to my stupid confe-…" I said before I felt her hand grab mine.

"How could I simply _like_ you Zero?" She said, her eyes on the ground. She suddenly looked up and smiled at my confused face. "I'm in love with you too, Zero. I have been for a long time." She said. At that point, I wanted to scream and run to Ichii and tell him that she loved me. I was so excited. But first…

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. We sat there, her lips on mine as the sun set along the horizon. We pulled away (unwillingly) after several minutes to take a breath. She rested her head on my chest as we watched the birds fly across the water as the light in the sky dimmed to a dull glow. Pretty soon, we heard Ichii come out of the store and shout our names.

"Well, we better get going." I said, smiling. She stood up and I followed. I put my arm around her waist and she smiled. While we caught up with Ichii, I threw him a wink as a smile crept along his lips. We headed home, Ichii walking in front. I pulled her closer and she sighed. At this point in time, I felt that I was stronger than anyone. Especially since the one I loved was by my side.

**Didja like it?! Huh huh huh?!?! Should I continue or make it a one-shot???**

**Seriously, reviews would make my day. That would rock. If you review, I will…… love you forever? Name my eraser shavings after you? Give you a marshmallow? Also, I am currently looking for a beta…..**

**Thank all of you awesome readers!!!! You rule!!!**

**-Miyako Mizuki**


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